PC Chacko Resigns As Delhi Congress In-Charge After Brute Poll Drubbing

Veteran Congress leader PC Chacko resigned as Delhi Congress in-charge after the brute drubbing in the Delhi Assembly Elections on Wednesday. Strangely, Chacko blamed Sheila Dikshit for the poll debacle. “The downfall of the Congress party started in 2013 when Sheila ji was the Chief Minister. The emergence of a new party AAP took away the entire Congress vote bank. We could never get it back. It still remains with AAP,” Chacko was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms till 2013. The Congress failed to open its account in the Delhi. Such was the poor state of affairs that only three Congress leaders managed to save their deposits.

Chacko was appointed Delhi in-charge in November 2014 ahead of the 2015 assembly elections. He had replaced general secretary Shakeel Ahmed who had then sought a leave of three months to visit his family in Canada.

The chaos within the Congress has come out in open after the Delhi disaster. Former Mumbai Congress chief and Union Minister Milind Deora slammed Chacko for making such statements against a deceased Congress stalwart. “Sheila Dikshit ji was a remarkable politician & administrator. During her tenure as Chief Minister, Delhi was transformed & Congress was stronger than ever. Unfortunate to see her being blamed after her death. She dedicated her life to @INCIndia & the people of Delhi,” Deora said on Twitter in recation to Chacko’s statement.

Tiff between two other Congress leaders have come out in open. On Tuesday, former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram posted a tweet congratulating the people of Delhi for defeating the BJP. However, ex-President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter and Delhi Congress leader Sharmishtha Mukherjee questioned Chidambaram’s intent. "AAP won, bluff and bluster lost. The people of Delhi, who are from all parts of India, have defeated the polarising, divisive and dangerous agenda of the BJP. I salute the people of Delhi who have set an example to other states that will hold their elections in 2021 and 2022,” Chidambaram said on Twitter.

To this, Mukherjee replied: "With due respect sir, just want to know- has (Congress) outsourced the task of defeating BJP to state parties? If not, then why are we gloating over AAP victory rather than being concerned about our drubbing? And if 'yes', then we (state Congress units) might as well close shop!"

"We are again decimated in Delhi. Enough of introspection, time for action now. Inordinate delay in decision-making at the top, lack of strategy and unity at state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect -all are factors. Being part of the system, I too take my share of responsibility," Mukherjee further said.